Daily Archives: September 9, 2009

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Quite a few of Barack Obama’s “friends from the past” have popped up recently. It’s doubtful whether he even knows their names, but in the Chicago Jewish community many people really are long-time friends of the president-elect. Some of the older people in the community say that they “raised him,” while others half-jokingly call Obama “the first Jewish president.”

They raised contributions for him, provided him with contacts, and also enjoyed hosting him and believed in his glorious future in politics. During most of the campaign, when rumors were spreading among American Jews that Obama was a closet Muslim who was more supportive of the Palestinians and was interested in granting the president of Iran legitimacy, his support among American Jews did not even come close to that enjoyed by Bill Clinton. But at the moment of truth, according to the exit polls, it turns out that 78 percent of Jews voted for Obama.

Members of the Chicago Jewish community are not surprised. They claim that the Jews simply discovered what they have known for years. Obama lives near the synagogue in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, an area with quite a large Jewish population. Some of area visitors may even mistake the heavy security presence on the street for the synagogue’s location – that is, until they hear about Obama.

Alan Solow, an attorney from Chicago, a leader of the Jewish community and a veteran Obama supporter, was one of the few who gained access to the president-elect after his speech in Chicago’s Grant Park last week. “After his speech on Tuesday night [election day] in front of hundreds of thousands people, he was the same Barack Obama I know. I think his life is going to change, but it won’t change the type of person he is. Presidents tend to become isolated, but I’m confident he’ll fight hard against it,” he says.

Solow used to live in Obama’s neighborhood, and says that Obama has always had “excellent relations with the Jewish community.”

“As a local senator, he was very effective and helpful in what we call ‘the Jewish agenda,’ the community issues, values. He has always had a deep understanding of Israel’s need for security. I went with him to Israel for a week in January 2006, and when he started the race for the presidency I had no doubt I’d support him. The first thing that impressed me about him was his intellect – he’s one of the smartest people I’ve met – but he’s also a warm and caring person who has a keen interest in issues that people of this country are worried about,” continues Solow.

“I said with a smile that he will be the first Jewish president. He also has a deep understanding of issues that confront Israel and the Jewish community. And I think his personal story reflects the story of Jewish immigration to the United States.

“He was raised in a family without any built-in advantages: His father was a stranger, but with the help of a close family and an emphasis on education and hard work, he succeeded. It’s the Jewish story in America. He understands it, and that’s why he’s so close to the Jewish community. His first autobiography is about seeking his roots and he understands Jewish people’s yearning for this – it fits into his world view and it’s one of the reasons for his support of Israel. When he says that Israel’s security is sacrosanct, I believe him. As I know him, he won’t say things he doesn’t really mean. And he has a lot of close Jewish friends who can confirm this.”

Solow is also very familiar with Obama’s first appointment – his designated White House chief of staff. “Rahm is an active member of Jewish community, his children go to the day schools and he was always recognized as Jewish when he was Clinton’s advisor. But I don’t believe that the fact that he’s a devoted Jew and supports Israel has anything to do with his appointment. He’s simply the best person for this job, because of his experience in Congress and in Clinton’s administration, and because of his intellect. But his support of Israel fits with the president-elect’s thinking.”

Michael Bauer, a political activist from the community who has known Obama for over a decade and supported his presidential campaign, says his first reaction to Obama’s victory was disbelief. “It seemed like a dream. After the election, I had a brief opportunity to congratulate him, to exchange a hug with Barack, a kiss with Michelle. We’re very proud of him and we’re sure he’ll successfully handle the big challenges facing the country and the new president,” he says.

“If we go back to his work as a State senator, his Senate district had a relatively high percentage of Jews, and more importantly, it was a Jewish population involved both politically and with charity organizations. When he was in the State Senate, the Democrats were a minority. When you’re a minority you don’t get too much accomplished. Neither Barack as a State Senator nor any of his colleagues were able to accomplish a great deal, because of Republican control of the State Senate. However, because of his district, it was always clear to me that many people supporting Barack are active in the Jewish community both locally and nationally. And they agreed about his sensitivity to a number of issues – the issue of the U.S-Israel relationship and domestically, issues that many of us are concerned about, be it the separation of Church and State, women’s right to choose, etc. It was always a natural fit between the Jewish community and Barack Obama. He understands those issues. Frankly, he’s so smart he understands them better than most of us,” says Bauer.

Identifying with Sderot

“As a U.S. senator he visited Israel twice, and especially the second time I think was highly significant,” Bauer continues. “I think it was important to him personally to go to Sderot and see the proximity involved when Israel is attacked on a daily basis from Gaza. I think it was also symbolic for the people of Israel and the worldwide community, as well as the Jewish community, to see Barack Obama going to Sderot and speaking about it, that as president it will be unacceptable to him and he recognizes Israel’s right to defend itself. This symbolism was important on so many different levels. I’ve known the president-elect for over 10 years, and his values and principles never change. If you ask me whether I have confidence that he’ll continue to be committed to Israel’s existence as a Jewish state within secure borders – I have absolutely no doubt.”

“President Bush supported Israel as well, but after eight years of his support Israel faces a stronger Iran, Hezbollah at the northern border, Hamas at the southern border – and Hamas gained a sort of political legitimacy. I think George Bush was a disaster for the State of Israel. And I think Obama’s administration understands Israel’s needs for safety and security, the importance of Israel remaining a Jewish state, and will try to help to mediate a peace in the Middle East that accomplishes those goals. There are still people who don’t believe it, but the great thing in democracy is that everyone has an opinion and you don’t need 100 percent consensus. I think peace in the Middle East is one of his highest priorities – he’s not going to wait for seven years as a president to start working on it.”

Bauer was also heavily involved in Rahm Emanuel’s campaign for Congress. “Let me say something about Rahm. One of the things people don’t like about him is the fact he’s short with people, but it’s only because he’s such a smart person. He doesn’t need a 15-minute phone conversation, he gets to the issues in three minutes. And Israel – it’s in his blood. The fact that Joe Biden, with a long record of supporting Israel, is Obama’s vice president-elect and Rahm Emanuel is his chief of staff – I’m not sure what reassurance anyone needs that the president-elect when he is president will remain a close ally of the State of Israel and the people of Israel.”

The plan from Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana would make health insurance mandatory, just like auto coverage.

FOXNews.com

Families who fail to get health insurance could be fined up to $3,800 under a health care reform plan proposed by a top Senate negotiator.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is leading talks among the “Gang of Six” senators to hammer out a bipartisan compromise, offered what he described on Tuesday as a “framework” and not a “final product.”

But the detailed proposal comes just days ahead of a self-imposed Sept. 15 deadline for such a deal. Baucus is pushing his committee members hard to hammer out a bill, and those details come as strong suggestions.

Baucus has set a deadline of 10 a.m. Wednesday morning for fellow members of the bipartisan group to offer “specific proposals” for a compromise bill. He made clear “time is running out” to get a deal.

“Time is running out very quickly. I suspect I’ll be making some decisions very quickly,” said Baucus, who added that he would like to have something to give to Obama before the tomorrow night’s speech to the joint session of Congress.

Baucus says he does not think the lack of a public option at all endangers the bill or its support with members of his party.

“Over the next week or so, the Finance Committee will move forward with health care reform.”

“We very much want a bipartisan agreement,” Baucus said. “To get a proposal out of the Finance Committee, it cannot have a public option.”

The framework of Baucus’ proposal, a copy of which was obtained by FOX News, includes what amounts to a no-choice option. It would make health insurance mandatory, like auto insurance.

The plan would provide tax credits to help small employers and help cover the cost for households making up to three times the federal poverty level. That’s about $66,000 for a family of four, and $32,000 for an individual.

Those who still don’t sign up would face hefty fines, starting at $750 a year for individuals and $1,500 for families — for those making up to three times the poverty level.

For those who make more than that, the penalty on individuals would jump to $950 and the penalty on families would jump to $3,800.

There would be a few exemptions, including for Native Americans and for those making incomes below the federal poverty level.

The plan does not include a government-run health insurance plan to soften the blow of the coverage mandate.

Instead, Baucus opts for a system of non-profit cooperatives, as part of a broader health insurance exchange.

As a way to pay for the package, estimated to cost under $900 billion over 10 years, Baucus is proposing a 35 percent excise tax on insurance companies for high-cost plans — defined as those above $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for family plans.

The Senate Finance Committee is meeting Tuesday, as President Obama prepares to deliver a high-stakes speech to both chambers of Congress Wednesday night in a bid to invigorate the push for reform.

Four committees have already passed their bills; Baucus’ panel is the only one yet to act. His committee’s bill is also the only one that could be considered bipartisan.

Baucus hits major elements in his plan that other top Democrats say are important. His plan would require health insurance plans to guarantee coverage and would prohibit them from excluding coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

Premiums would be allowed to vary based only on tobacco use, age and size of family.

But the fines pose a dilemma for Obama. As a candidate, the president campaigned hard against making health insurance a requirement, saying it’s too expensive to mandate. White House officials have since backed away somewhat from that stance, but there’s no indication that Obama would support fines.

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September 08, 2009 “Information Clearing House” — Throughout history, torture has always been an instrument of tyranny. The very purpose of the Grand Inquisitor was to compel absolute obedience to authority. Torture was the weapon he used in the struggle to force freedom to submit to authority.

Fear is the principal element in both public acceptance of torture and individual submission to it. The frightened public is persuaded that only torture can force confessions essential to prevent catastrophic acts—terrorism in the present context. The frightened victim is persuaded torture will be unbearable, or be his death.

Franklin Roosevelt spoke truth when he said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Justice Black warned wisely, “We must not be afraid to be free,” dissenting in In re Anastaplo. Anastaplo was a law school classmate of mine who refused to take a non-Communist oath, a requirement for admission to the Illinois bar at the time. We have failed to follow this wisdom, a failure of faith urged by Lincoln at the then Cooper Institute: “Let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”

At stake is our cultural insistence that America has faith in freedom, that America is, or aspires to be, the land of the free and the home of the brave. At risk is the image of America, which might become Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and rendition to torture chambers in client States.

Now we are confronted by the brutish and brazen mentality of Dick Cheney, only one of George W. Bush’s many vices. Having concealed truth by refusing to release records and after the destruction of evidence, Cheney proclaims, “I am very proud of what we did”—a war of aggression that has devastated and fragmented Iraq and Afghanistan, and created a danger to peace in Pakistan and beyond. The same wars that have left 5,000 U.S. soldiers dead and maybe 30,000 with impaired lives, spread corruption within the Bush administration, politics in prosecutors offices, the worst recession in 70 years caused by the failure to police his greedy friends and supporters, boasting of torture by any other name.

Cheney wants us to believe “enhanced interrogation techniques,” the phrase he prefers to torture, “were absolutely essential” in successfully stopping another terrorist attack on the U.S. after 9/11. This is utterly false, a matter of indifference to Cheney who may be getting desperate. These “enhanced interrogation techniques” were, however, torture as defined in Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture of 1984, an international treaty ratified by 184 nations, including the United States a decade late in 1994. The Convention, which is part of the supreme law of the land under the U.S. Constitution, recognizes “the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,” and “that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person.”

Thus, the U.S. is treaty bound to prosecute all persons, high and low, who have authorized, condoned or committed torture if our word in the international community is to mean anything.

The Convention requires each signatory to ensure that all acts of torture are offenses under its criminal law. It requires prosecution, or under specific conditions, extradition to another nation for prosecution of alleged torturers.

Former FBI agent Ali H. Soufan is only one of the key U.S. intelligence and investigative officials directly involved in the key interrogations who have publicly condemned the “enhanced interrogation techniques.” He has explained how the practice not only failed to obtain reliable or new information, but was also harmful. He concluded an op-ed article in the New York Times on Sept. 6, which stated that “the professionals in the field are relieved that an ineffective, unreliable, unnecessary and destructive program, one that may have given Al Qaeda a second wind and damaged our country’s reputation is finished.”

The struggle to prosecute torture by U.S. agents is related to the struggle over health care legislation and troop increases in Afghanistan. Real health care reform would end the theft of major national resources by the insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and the wealth seeking medical profession at the expense of the lives and health of the poor and middle class.

We should remember that a decade before he gave us “What is good for General Motors is good for the nation,” Charles E. Wilson, once President of General Motors, and later Secretary of Defense under President Eisenhower, wrote in the Army Ordinance Journal in 1944: “War has been inevitable in our human affairs as an evolutionary force … Let us make the three-way partnership (industry, government, army) permanent.” Notice what comes first for Wilson, whose credo was “Let us have faith that might makes right.”

President Obama faces all three of these challenges, torture in our name, health care and Afghanistan at once. If he fails to insist on full investigation of torture and prosecution of all persons found to have authorized, directed or committed it, including George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, he will lose all three, because his adversaries in each are the same.

We want to thank every member of the IndictBushNow movement for their work. The announcement that a Special Prosecutor has been appointed to investigate the crimes committed during the Bush administration is a critical step. It was the action taken by you and people all around the country that made this possible. Now we will build on this momentum. The voice of the people must and will be heard.

Al-Maliki of Iraq can definitively state that the Zio-Christian fundamentalist mercenary out fit of Blackwater is not in Iraq, and that it definitely does not recruit Israelis in its ranks. Al-Maliki can further conform that they won’t be roaming Iraq killing top scientists in the country who were connected to the former Saddam regimes WMD programs.

America is in Iraq ONLY to spread peace, love, democracy, transparency, reconstruction, economic development and effective governance, after decades of Socialist dictatorship under Saddam.

Al-Malaki swears all this supreme truth to his beloved countrymen on the Koran and upon the honor of his family name, and they must believe him.

Al-Maliki further states that no Iraqi bases are being used to launch missiles controlled by the USA which kill mainly Iraqi civilians, and not much else. Al-Maliki and his colleagues affirm the sovereignty of Iraq and the independence of the people to choose their own destiny. Al-Maliki fully supports and believes in the proud heritage of his country from the dawn of time, to the present as the “Cradle of civilization”….and that no foreign power great and small have the right to interfere with its internal affairs……..especially a country like the USA, a rogue dangerous power run by mad Jews with agenda’s…..and very little mercy. Al-Maliki does not have a second home in America, and has no foreign bank accounts.

Al-Maliki can definitely confirm that the biggest USA embassy in the world will soon not be in Bagdad, containing 1800 personnel……..including military personnel………and nobody should show any concern or alarm about this strange development least of all the Iraqi people.

It is absolutely normal for America to have big big embassies in small failed states…….please believe me, stay calm and watch some telly to pass the time.

Al-Maliki can further confirm that there aren’t over half a dozen bases in the country which contain American Military personnel, including bases near highly sensitive sights close to Sargoda.

America equals love and peace……….as in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mean while a few years later………….2010..

The Chimp in chief at his palace in Islamabad says that he hasn’t amassed $10 billion……..he is a poor man of the people, who ONLY thinks of his people in Pakistan. But he requires American security to protect him because he says al-Qaeda is very active in that area…….that is the only reason he has allowed the 3,000 strong American embassy next to his presidential palace.

The Chimp further adds that there simply is no evidence that 5 million Pakistanis have been killed through sectarian violence……..attributed to the American “Liberation and stabilization” forces.

The Chimp in chief denies that 20 million Pakistanis have “escaped” to India as refugees. There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that the women in these refugee camps are selling their pudi for 1 rupee a go……….The president says he knows because his own intelligence told him the going rate is 4 rupee a go, and he makes 20% on all such transactions.

But, but, but Pakistan is a nuclear power….which spent $20 billion on the project…..50 warheads……..800,000 in the military….and 300,000 paramilitary……..how can America overpower such a state? If North Korea is independent, why can’t Pakistan be so?

The fundamental problem of the state is the Pakistan military, especially the top brass lacking in strategic and moral courage, and their all too close alliance with the USA. In addition their destabilization of Pakistani politics over many decades in order to stay in power.

They never came to the simple truth that Jew run America could never be friends or allies of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan……..that any such relationship would be fake and to the disadvantage of Pakistan generally.

And the Pakistani military themselves have been betrayed by the Americans……..America destabilized Ayub, killed Zia and the top brass…and destabilized Musharaf out of power more recently.

But these sad kuta’s in uniform do not learn….they repeat the mistake for themselves and so their country. They look stupid, act stupid, no Izzat or tamiz against their own brothers and sisters.

The military itself does not have a glorious record; it fights its bloodiest wars against its own people in East Pakistan, Baluchistan and now the NWFP….where in there are other more civilized options in dealings with ones own kith and kin fellow countrymen….but I bet a trillion $ any day that they will not resist as they have not been doing when the Americans take over Pakistan eventually……kuta….kuta….kuta………the Turkish military have a good record; the Vietnamese military have a good record………..and to an extent the Indian military have a good record, against Pakistan mainly…..examples of Third World states which have produced fine institutions which the people can be proud of.

The Pakistan military on the other hand operated as a service center for USA geo-strategy in the Greater Middle East and South Asia………training up groups against Iran, Afghanistan, China, India….and so on, and the ordinary Pakistani society will feel what gratitude they get from America eventually.

And so in the future when the American slow take over of Pakistan happens and a terrible civil war ensues as in Iraq……the above Mir Jafar’s will be retired some where in America, playing golf, exchanging old stories with the MOSSAD agent Busharaf, and sadly reflecting on the fact that they can no longer play their games with Pakistan.

The CIA was given the lead in America’s alleged war of retribution, allowing the agency to secretly lead the direction of the war, using false flag direction and by supplying the new “intelligence” documents that would support the secret actions, in order to fuel succeeding phases of the war, straight into the heartland of Central Asia. The CIA sets the pattern in this war that others must follow, even the Pentagon. Covert spy networks supply the individual pieces of new “intelligence” that determine both the air missions and those conducted by Special Forces teams (under CIA leadership, of course).

The local informants who are recruited on the ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan determine targeting for drones and bombers without concern for collateral damage, only for the “twenty pieces of silver” that they will receive for calling-in airstrikes upon their neighbors. If wrong actions are taken, or if there is extensive “collateral damage” in the raids, then it is the agency’s faulty target acquisition methods that are to blame. How reliable could such amoral spies be, when they would willingly do this to their fellow man?

This is the type of scum that the agency has working for it, calling the shots for the Navy and Air Force. It is little wonder that so many wedding parties and funerals have been hit. In the latest bombing catastrophe, over 125 people were killed, many of them civilians, on the strength of one low-life informant, who would sell-out his neighbors for a dollar ( Sole Informant Guided Decision On Afghan Strike).

The spy lords’ complex plans have come-up against the barrier of human morality and the decency factor. The scum-of-the-earth types who power their warped war plans and the amoral spymasters have fostered an air of moral outrage that is blowing over the Western alliance, threatening to dissolve support for “the mission.” Pentagon planners know that this war, just like Vietnam, is an immoral war that is being fought without credible cause. There no longer exists a national consensus, based on fear, in search of retribution for a horrendous act of terror; support for the war in Afghanistan is shaky and will not survive an expose’ of war crimes. CIA control of this war threatens to unravel the Pentagon’s best laid plans.

Each civilian disaster brings a pause to the war, as shock sets-in and the Pentagon issues its standard denial of responsibility, or the claim that no civilians were killed at all (remember My Lai?). Each pause gives the American people and our European allies time to reflect on the tragedy that we have caused in our willingness to blindly follow the path that Cheney, Bush and now Obama have set before us. It is becoming increasingly clear to reasonable individuals that there is no reason for continuing the destruction in Afghanistan, or for widening that war into Pakistan, or beyond.

With the slaughter of helpless civilians becoming a regular occurrence, the CIA’s mistakes and its basic inhumanity have produced sufficient reasons for ending the war. Americans are rapidly becoming enraged at the slaughter and brutality that we see our own bombers unleashing upon the Afghan people, repeating the mistakes made by the Soviets, matching their barbarity note for note. This brought us to our feet once, in support of the original mujahedeen; it will rouse us again into helping the Afghans today, forcing Obama to cancel his great plans and leave Afghanistan.

For all their technical expertise and in spite of the roster of geniuses among their ranks, the CIA’s most devious plans are made or broken by simple human nature, dependent upon whether they go against human nature or work with it. This tendency to misjudge basic human nature was the direct cause for the Soviet defeat in 1989, just as it will be for us today. The Western propaganda campaign that sustained the original anti-Soviet operation was fuelled by moral outrage over the plight of the victims of the Soviet air campaign, many of whom were the elderly, the sick, women and children, missing eyes and limbs. The Afghans garnered global sympathy because of this testimony, just as they are today.

No matter how much Gen. McChrystal tries to contain today’s outrage and to direct it away from allied forces, airstrikes on civilians will continue to happen, just as ground forces will continue using overwhelming force where they should not. He can never truly protect the Afghan people until American forces either withdraw, or stop pushing combat operations into their villages and into their homes.

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[Another clear indicator that nothing is as it seems in the Middle East. We are encouraged by the controllers of the “free press” to believe that conflicts and divisions between players are real and not simply play-acting for the gullible people to witness. Like the argument between the US and Pakistan, we witness a manufactured non-event, that plays-out to convince us that there is space between the two friends. The US uses secret deals with collaborator nations like Russia and Iran to stage diversionary events, to confuse and distract those who are paying attention. But the danger for a small power, like Iran, that ignores the warning signs, or forgets the hard historical lessons it has been taught,is that it will be thrown into the fire, a disposable scapegoat, when the time for sacrifice comes. This move by Russia, to cut Iran out of any Caspian summit, shows the real nature of Russia’s support for Iran. I am certain that Israel is paying close attention.]

Iran has stewed for years as Russia and its former Soviet satellite states gobble up more and more of the Caspian Sea’s resources.

The four countries attending the Aktau meeting, described as an “informal” summit to discuss “subregional cooperation,” say they don’t plan to make any decisions on the status of the sea or the division of the seabed, an official representative of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry told Azerbaijan’s Trend news agency.

But to Iranians, it looks like another attempt to chip away at Iran’s claims to the sea’s riches, which include gas and oil reserves as well as marine life.

Of the Caspian states, only Russia and Iran have the seaports to export the sea’s natural gas.

“The summit is against previous agreements, in which the five Caspian littoral states came to the understanding that any decision on the waterway should be made with the participation of all its neighboring countries,” he said in a comment during a meeting with Kazakhstan’s new envoy to Tehran.

Iranians worry the Moscow is trying to get the other three Caspian states to gang up on Tehran, cutting it out of future pipeline projects.

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